Piercing Aftercare

Daily Cleaning

Always clean your piercing with freshly washed hands. You should never handle a new piercing with dirty hands.

It is important to clean your new piercing piercing twice a day (morning and night). First, soak your piercing with some warm water to loosen any dried lymph that may have built up around the jewelry, then apply unscented, non-antibacterial soap (we recommend Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild Castile Soap) to a cotton swab and create a lather around your jewellery to remove that build up. Make sure to rinse well with warm water after cleaning.

Two to three times per week, add a 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt to a 250ml cup of hot water (not so hot that it will burn you) and soak your piercing for 20-30 minutes. Use a hot compress (cotton ball or gauze pad) if you cannot fully submerge the piercing.

For an oral piercing, add 1/4 teaspoon sea salt to a 250ml cup of hot water, let it cool and carry it with you throughout the day – rinse briefly after eating, drinking anything other than water, or smoking a cigarette.

Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea is a natural anti-inflammatory, so it helps to reduce redness and swelling in a fresh piercing.

Use a chamomile tea bag as a hot compress by dipping it into hot water and holding it against the piercing for anywhere up to 20 minutes. Chamomile tea compresses can be used as often as needed.

Swelling of a tongue piercing can be minimized by brewing a pot of chamomile tea and making small ice cubes out of it. Gently suck on these throughout the day to reduce swelling in the mouth.

Genital Piercings

Follow the instructions under ‘cleaning your new piercing’

Avoid sexual contact for the first couple weeks and make sure to use protection (condoms, dental dams) during any sexual contact during the healing period, as both you and your partner are at a higher risk.

Avoid:

Rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide, as they are far too strong to use on a fresh piercing. They may kill bacteria, but they also kill the white blood cells that help you heal, prolonging the healing process.

Polysporin and Neosporin, as they are petroleum based products which your body cannot break down. They create a waterproof seal over the piercing which can trap bacteria inside the piercing.

Perfumed, dyed, or cream soaps, as they can be quite irritating to a new piercing and can cause allergic reactions.

Band-aids, as they promote the growth of bacterial cultures.

Make-up and hair products, as they can cause allergic reactions.

Alcoholic mouthwashes like Listerine or Scope, as alcohol will irritate a fresh oral piercing,and alcoholic mouthwashes will prolong the healing process.

Hot tubs and pools for the first few weeks, as chlorine will irritate your piercing. If it can’t be avoided make sure to clean the piercing thoroughly afterwards.